Comment: Won Mount SAC Division 5 race; ranked second in CIF-SS, third in state.

5. LA REINA

Comment: Fourth in Mount SAC Division 4 sweepstakes; second in CIF-SS and state.

Any doubts anyone might have had about this year's Simi Valley High girls cross country team were not only laid to rest over the weekend, they were beaten to a pulp.

At Saturday's Mount San Antonio College Invitational in Walnut, Simi Valley not only won the Division 2 race, but also set the fourth fastest time for the class with a team mark of 89 minutes, 42 seconds.

Originally, the time had been reported as a Division 2 record, but after investigating discrepancies, it appears Saugus ran an 88:18 in 2008 and had 89:34s in 2007 and 2010.

Sophomore Sarah Baxter, the defending state champion, won the race in 16:59 and her next four teammates were separated by only 30 seconds. Karla Vernola was fifth in 17:56, Rachel Vinas took 11th in 18:07, followed by Erica Barr, 15th in 18:14, and Sarah Riggs, 23rd in 18:26.

"I was very pleased," said Simi Valley coach Roger Evans. "That was a stellar field and a loaded field so I knew the competition was going to be at a very high level. You don't know how other people are going to run, but I felt we would do well.

Grouping was more important than winning, the coach said.

"This was our first big invitational since Woodbridge (last month)," Evans noted. "Woodbridge is so early and it's flat, so you don't get as good a barometer as to how you stack up as you do at Mount SAC. Truthfully, throughout the race, I was more concerned on how our girls were going to be able to pack together, run as a fast pack somewhere near the front part of the race. At the end, I wasn't certain how we finished, but I was very pleased with our placement."

Baxter's performance was particularly impressive, considering she missed the beginning of the season because of inflammation on the growth plate of her heel.

"I am amazed and surprised at how fast she came back," Evans said. "She really hadn't been training as far as running. The doctor has her on a very limited progression.

"She ran a very smart race. She hung back for a while and just kind of got the feel of the race, the pacing and how things were going. When she hit the crossover I knew at that point, Sarah was going to pound up Poop Out (Hill) and that's when she broke the race open."

MOUNT SAC SHOWINGS

Buena's girls team came in third Saturday in its Division 1 race. The Bulldogs' scoring runners — Shannon Kenney, Aliya Shah, Katie Hosch, Kenna Perez and Mandii Gomez — had a 44-second gap between them.

Newbury Park's boys took seventh in their Division 1 race. The Panthers' No. 1 runner, sophomore Jonny Byrne, was 15th in 16:19. Meanwhile, Newbury Park's girls team had an eighth-place showing with Sammie Cox coming in 22nd in 19:21.